As Haitians and observers worldwide began pointing fingers and speculating about which members of the opposition may have played a role in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, his opponent Dr. Reginald Boulos said killing the head of state was never in the opposition’s agenda.
“I don’t think at any point [in] time, the opposition in Haiti ever wished [harm] for President Jovenel Moïse,” Boulos said in an exclusive interview with The Haitian Times. “In politics, you can have adversaries, but you don’t have enemies. Therefore, pointing fingers at the opposition is basically covering the steps of whoever did it.”
“I don’t feel the opposition today would have the capability to pull out such a well-organized mission,” Boulos added.
Boulos, a prominent Haiti-based mogul and leader of the MTVAyiti political party, is the first member of the opposition to speak publicly about the shocking death. Nearly 15 hours after Moïse was assassinated, many of the leaders who opposed him vocally and at every turn were largely quiet on their social channels and usual media outlets.
During his presidency, Moïse amassed a long list of enemies. Some of the most well-known public figures on that list include entrepreneur Dimitri Vorbe, attorney Andre Michel, ex-Senator Youri Latortue and Boulos.
Many of them had openly accused Moïse of employing the G9 Family and Allies gang to kill residents who opposed him and to kidnap people. Boulos blamed Moïse for looting and burning that took place at Boulos’s automotive dealership in March.
Despite the acrimony displayed, Boulos said Moïse was a friend. But Boulos later clarified that he and Moïse broke their friendship in 2019.
“Fierce adversaries politically, but they’re still our friends,” Boulos said. “I don’t think we should mix personal relationships with political relationships.”
Opposition members also appeared to have been victimized in the aftermath of the killing. A fire was set at the home of former Senator Moïse Jean-Charles, a member of the opposition, just hours after Moïse died. It is unclear if the two attacks are linked.
Moïse was assassinated in his home around 1:00 a.m. Wednesday by a group of commandos. They were speaking in Spanish and in English, according to a cell phone video that surfaced in the wee hours of Wednesday.
One group had already tried to overthrow and kill Moïse on February 7, government officials said.
The only arrest that has been made public since the assassination is the arrest of Jean-Rebel Dorcénat, coordinator of the disarmament force, and two people not yet identified, according to local reports. The trio was arrested while driving to the Dominican Republic at Belladère, a commune near the Haitian-Dominican border in the central department.
It is not clear yet how the arrest may be linked to Moïse’s murder.
The assassination of President Moise would be considered “fake news” by the former President of the United States, Mr. Trump. Many details don’t make sense. In Haiti, there is no problem in posting grisly pictures of the deceased online. So far, no pictures of the dead president has ever been shown. The only “evidence” shown is an SUV ridden with bullets; however, the “assassination” was supposed to have taken place in the president’s residence at 1 AM on Wednesday. There is also no pictures of the so-called mercenaries who committed this act and are supposed to be killed or captured.
It is useful to remember a few things. Under President Moise, crimes rose to an unprecedented level. The president has been accused of using gangs to murder his political opponents and terrorizing the population. Furthermore , two billions of dollars of the Petrocaribe funds have disappeared. There has been many calls for a trial of the president for these actions.
There is evidence that President Moise was an asset of the CIA, put in place for a particular mission. His assassination remains to be proven. His disappearance frustrates the Haitian justice system, if there ever were one, but also solves the problem of implicating people even in the US who might have benefitted from these billions of dollars.
No one knows if the president is not living in an extra secure location, in a foreign country, enjoying his golden retirement.
I would rather argue that no opposition party, unless delusional, could benefit from such an assassination.
Because, the assassination generates enormous popular sympathies for the “dead martyr of the neg an deyo fighting the neg la ville powerful oligarchs” and the associated emotions could neutralize any critique and objective analyses of the Moise governance record.
I agree that we need full transparency of the circumstance of the assassination and full accountability.